Health Accountability Buddies Help Achieve Goals

The alarm buzzes for your early workout, and while you were looking forward to it last night, all you want now is to go back to sleep. Does this sound familiar? Some days you get up and lace up your sneakers anyway, but others, your workout never happens.

What if you had a friend waiting to meet you at the park, though? You’d get up for sure then, right? That’s called having an accountability partner. You don’t want to leave your friend in the lurch, and he/she feels the same way. By counting on each other, you both get your exercise so everyone wins.

Not wanting to let someone down can make a big motivational difference. A study conducted by Dr. Gail Matthews from Dominican University in California found that if people wrote down their goals, shared the goals with a friend, and then sent them weekly progress reports, they were 33 percent more likely to achieve the goal than those who just formed a goal.

If you don’t have a friend who can exercise with you, or if you’d like someone with professional experience, you could find a personal trainer or sign up for a workout class. That way, if you skip your workout, you’re not only missing the exercise itself, but you’re wasting money. That can be a powerful motivator, too.

A partner will cheer you on, help you believe in yourself, celebrate the milestones on the way to your goal, commiserate through the setbacks, remind you why your goal is important, and provide company. With so many responsibilities, you can see why it’s important to choose the right person for the job. Will this person stay positive and challenge you to push yourself? And if it’s a friend, can you do the same in exchange? The satisfaction of helping someone else is another benefit of partnering with someone to improve your health!

How do you stay motivated to exercise and meet other health goals? Share in the comments below!